After Anna

by Lisa Scottoline

‘I’m ready. We went over and over it. I’m good to go.’

  ‘I prepared you, but you’re not bulletproof. And she can’t wait for me to put you up there. She’ll eat you alive.’ Thomas squirted ketchup on the French fries.

  ‘But we don’t have anything else.’ Noah finished the first half of his cheesesteak, wolfing it down.

  ‘They have the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and I hurt their witnesses on cross. That’s the way we’re going to do it.’ Thomas picked up some French fries.

  ‘But we need witnesses.’

  ‘No, we don’t, I told you. I’ve won on the burden plenty of times. I always say it, “bank on the burden.” I tell my associates, “bank on the burden.” My secretary even put it in a needlepoint pillow.’ Thomas chewed away. ‘It’s not like on TV, Noah. Most defendants don’t have witnesses unless they’re alibi witnesses. And there are very few character witnesses, which are never effective. Juries discount them. Every time I see them on the witness list, I think, that’s not a witness list, it’s a witless list.’

  ‘Lawyer humor.’

  ‘Hey, it’s all I got.’

  ‘So put me up. We’ve rehearsed it.’

  Thomas cringed. ‘We didn’t rehearse. We prepared.’

  ‘What’s the difference? Rehearsed, prepared? Coached, studied –’

  ‘Never say coach. I didn’t coach you. I prepared you.’

  ‘Whatever.’ Noah straightened as much as he could with one hand cuffed to the chair. ‘I’m going to testify on my own behalf. I’m good to go.’

  ‘We’ve been over this.’

  ‘But we never resolved it. Now, we have to. I’m going up there. You take me through the direct examination we prepared, then I can deal with Linda on cross.’

  Thomas shook his head, exhaling a heavy sigh that expanded his broad chest. ‘What’s your blood type?’

  ‘B negative. Why?’

  ‘Write it on your boots. You’re gonna need a transfusion.’ Thomas’s phone pinged with a text alert, and he swiped the screen. ‘Oh, yes! We caught a break. Isn’t this your wife? My paralegal spotted her.’

  ‘Where?’ Noah leaned over, and Thomas passed the phone across the table. On the screen was a photo of Maggie, sitting in the driver’s seat of her car, her head turned away like she was on the phone.

  ‘She’s in the garage across the street, right now.’ Thomas shifted forward, urgent. ‘Noah, I should put her on the stand. She’s already on our witness list. She’s already been served with a subpoena. She can’t be forced to testify against you, but she can for you.’

  ‘No,’ Noah answered, firmly. ‘She wouldn’t be a good witness for us anyway. She hates me now.’

  ‘I can make her into a good witness for us. I could get her to say that she isn’t totally sure you did it. I could get her to say what a great guy you are, a good husband and father. She thought that once, and I know I could get her to say it. That would be a home run!’

  ‘You just said they discount character witnesses. She’s my wife.’

  ‘But she’s also the mother. All the difference in the world. If she said she didn’t think you did it, you could walk out of here a free man. Noah, please!’

  ‘But Linda would get to cross-examine her, right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then the answer is no.’ Noah felt his gut clench. ‘You’re worried about how I’m going to handle the cross-examination, how do you think she’s going to handle it? Anna was her daughter, Thomas. She loved her. And she loved me.’ He looked down at the photo of Maggie with a pang. He’d been inside that car so many times. She called it her office on wheels. She kept everything in the side doors, gum, napkins, perfume, and moisturizer. He’d even caught her putting Cetaphil lotion on her legs at a stoplight. They’d laughed and laughed. It hurt to see her, even in the photo. ‘What’s she doing?’

  ‘Who knows?’ Thomas glanced at the wall clock. ‘Dennis is waiting to hear from me. He can escort her over. We can even send over a deputy if need be.’

  Noah looked up, recoiling. ‘You’re out of your mind if you think I’d let you –’

  ‘Maybe she wants to testify, you never know.’ Thomas threw up his hands in frustration. ‘She’s here, isn’t she?’

  ‘That’s not why she came.’

  Thomas’s phone pinged again, another text coming in, and reflexively, Noah swiped the screen to see it. It was a second photo, taken from a different vantage point. The view was of Maggie’s car through the windshield, and Noah realized what Maggie was doing inside the car. She wasn’t on the phone at all. She was crying. The realization stabbed like a knife. Noah had done this to her. He had ruined her life.

  ‘Thomas, call your paralegal off. Tell him to stop taking pictures of my wife. She deserves her privacy.’ Noah sent Thomas’s phone skidding back across the table. ‘Put me up. She wants to see me testify. She wants to hear what I’ll say.’

  ‘If she returned my effing calls, I’d tell her!’

  ‘She wants to hear it from me, in court. That’s why she’s here.’ Noah knew it was true. ‘Put me up or you’re fired.’

  ‘Noah, really?’

  ‘It’s the least I can do for her.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maggie, Before

  Maggie knocked on the front door, buoyed by her meeting with Ellen. She was one step closer to taking Anna home with her, with the last hurdle to go. James R. Huntley, Esquire, read a brass plaque affixed to a distinctive clapboard house, painted a darkly dramatic eggplant color, its shutters and front door enameled black. Amber lights glowed from within, through more beautiful colonial windows, each bubble in the glass attesting to its authenticity. Congreve was Puritan Heaven.

  The front door opened, and a portly silhouette stood in the threshold, extending a hand. ‘You must be Maggie, Anna’s mom. Come in.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Huntley.’

  ‘Please, call me James.’ James guided Maggie inside, shutting the door behind her. ‘I see the resemblance.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Maggie smiled.

  ‘Let me take your coat, please.’ James reached for Maggie’s coat and hung it on a brass coatrack in the entrance hall, which had wafer-thin Oriental rugs, mahogany Chippendale chairs against the walls, and Currier & Ives prints above the wainscoting, their pastel hues colorized in an old-timey way.

  ‘Can I get you coffee or tea? I’m addicted to green tea these days.’

  ‘No, thanks, I just had coffee.’ Maggie had stopped in town at a drive-through Starbucks.

  ‘Follow me.’ James lumbered ahead of her into his office, his oxford shirt creased in back, which he had on with baggy suitpants and a rep tie. He waved a meaty hand at a Windsor chair across from his cluttered desk, and they both sat down. Another lovely Oriental rug covered the floor, and more Currier & Ives prints lined the eggshell walls next to glass-covered bookshelves containing the Internal Revenue Code, copies of Trusts & Estates magazine, and the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. The lighting was soft and elegant, shed by lamps with crystal bases.

  ‘Thanks for seeing me on such short notice,’ Maggie said, setting her purse down.

  ‘Not a problem. Anna told me she would be contacting you.’ James frowned, tenting his fingers on the desk. ‘Of course, I was troubled by what she’d been told about abuse by you. However, I read the custody order and supporting documents you emailed me, and they contained no reference to physical abuse or neglect. I see the sole reason for your losing custody was your postpartum disorder. They allayed my fear about physical abuse.’

  ‘Yes,’ Maggie said, relieved. ‘I never abused her, I swear.’

  James frowned. ‘My condolences on the passing of her father, Florian. I never met him, by the way. He hired my partner, who has since retired. When I went solo, Florian retained me to stay with Anna’s matter.’

  ‘How often did you see her? I don’t really know how this works or what you do vis-à-vis Anna.’

  ‘A
llow me to explain. Anna’s father created a trust for her benefit, and I am in charge of the trust.’ James opened his hands. ‘Trusts and estates law can be technical, and I’m not one of those lawyers who likes to keep the mystery. So I’ll break this down for you.’

  ‘Great.’ Maggie settled back, happy to listen.

  ‘I meet with Anna generally once a year, and I’m a trustee. I am responsible for managing the trust assets, keeping accounts and other necessary records, filing income tax returns, and following the terms that Florian established in making distributions to Anna. I have discretion to use the trust assets for Anna’s health, education, and support.’

  ‘So you pay her bills?’

  ‘Yes. I’ll contact Congreve Academy to inform them that she will not be finishing this semester. I’ll ask for a refund of the second semester tuition, but I may have to settle for prorating it. The tuition for boarders is $65,000.’

  ‘Wow.’

  ‘You get what you pay for. I’m not cheap, either.’ James smiled. His teeth were perfect, if tea-stained. ‘By the way, the trust pays my fees, too. But your issue isn’t about the trust, it’s about custody. I reviewed the documents that you emailed me, and your parental rights to her have not been terminated. In other words, your postpartum disorder rendered you unfit for custodial purposes at that point in time, but did not terminate your legal rights as her mother.’

  ‘I thought so,’ Maggie said, encouraged.

  ‘The law in Maine, and undoubtedly jurisdictions including Pennsylvania, is that with the death of Anna’s father, her legal and physical custody go to you. Nevertheless, I think you should go to family court in Pennsylvania and ask them to award you custody.’

  ‘Do I have to do that before I take her?’

  ‘No. It’s just a formality. You have the absolute right to make legal decisions about her future. Anna is not legally emancipated, so until she’s eighteen years old, she’s under your legal authority. You have the authority to take her, and I think that is reasonable and certainly desirable in the circumstances.’

  ‘Great!’ Maggie felt like cheering, but didn’t.

  ‘Excellent.’ James opened a manila folder on his desk, thick with correspondence. ‘Now let me explain something about the trust. A trust is simply a fund. I can continue to make expenditures from the fund, or trust, on Anna’s behalf until she’s eighteen. I don’t think you need to retain a different lawyer in Pennsylvania. I can do that from here, easily. Continuity of representation benefits Anna, and she would like me to remain with her after she moves.’

  ‘Okay, I’m fine with you staying as the trustee.’

  ‘Thank you. I will copy and send you these documents.’ James gestured at the folder. ‘The trust will support Anna in the future, even when she lives at your home. Her trust pays for her expenses or ones that you incur on her behalf. Food, clothing, books, mani and pedi, hair, gym membership, or if she buys a car, which she didn’t need here. She wants one, she’s mentioned that to me already. She has a valid driver’s license here because Congreve has driver’s ed. You’ll have to check the driving laws in Pennsylvania.’

  ‘Okay,’ Maggie said, not having thought that far ahead.

  ‘Anna will go to college, and Pennsylvania law is unsettled as to a parent’s obligation to pay her tuition. Not a problem in her case. There’s more than enough money in the trust to cover her tuition and related expenses.’

  ‘How much money is in the trust?’

  ‘Florian started the trust, but over time, the investment manager we hired, Dave Cummings at Kennebunk Investors, has invested it in curated blue-chip stocks. The trust is probably worth three mil, which Anna may withdraw at eighteen, but we need to discuss that.’

  ‘Three million dollars?’ Maggie had thought it would be a lot, but that was higher than she thought.

  ‘In addition, more money will be added to the trust because of her father’s passing. I’ve been on the phone back and forth with the French lawyers over the past month or so. Anna is her father’s only heir, but I think it’s very unwise for her to receive the full amount so young.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Maggie should’ve thought of it before. Florian had sold his business for $30 million, way back when.

  ‘Anna stands to inherit a great deal of money from her father. According to the French lawyers, his estate is worth almost $50 million after taxes and expenses.’

  ‘What?’ Maggie gasped. ‘Are you telling me she’s going to get $50 million when she turns eighteen?’

  ‘Yes, and that’s bad news, believe it or not.’ James’s expression soured, his jowls draping around a downturned mouth. ‘I tried to tell Florian that, but it was difficult to get him to return my calls or emails.’

  ‘But $50 million? That’s a fortune!’

  ‘You seem surprised.’

  ‘I am.’ Maggie felt nonplussed. ‘This is news to me.’

  ‘But you had to know that your ex-husband would provide for her in his will, didn’t you?’ James raised his palm. ‘Please, don’t be offended. I’m not accusing you of an ulterior motive, by the way. Your intentions are demonstrably good.’

  ‘Thanks, I just didn’t think that far ahead. I was so excited about reuniting with her, and I didn’t know she’d want to come live with me, so her money was academic. I hadn’t thought about it.’

  ‘So we’re clear, Anna is a wealthy young girl, and her money is hers, not yours or your husband’s.’

  ‘Of course I understand that.’ Maggie tried to process the information. Anna had way more money than she and Noah, which seemed topsy-turvy.

  ‘By the way, I had nothing to do with the drafting of the will or the trust. It’s completely valid here, however.’

  ‘Okay.’ Maggie collected her thoughts. ‘So what happens to that money now? It stays somewhere?’

  ‘Yes, it does, and it will take months until we transfer it into the trust. But I would not have provided for Anna to receive the entire sum at eighteen. It’s like winning the lottery, too young. Or let’s say she meets a boy and he finds out she’s coming into money. She could be taken advantage of. I’ve seen it happen.’ James shuddered. ‘When I set up an estate, I provide that the first disbursement isn’t until age twenty-five and amounts are transferred every five years, spreading them out as much as possible.’

  ‘Can we do it that way now?’ Maggie was trying to think ahead.

  ‘Yes, but not yet. We have no right to change the terms of the trust unless the trust says so, which it does not. But when Anna turns eighteen, she has the legal ability to create a trust for herself and she can change the terms of her trust. I have already advised her to do so, so that the disbursements begin when she is twenty-five and occur at the intervals I suggest.’

  ‘What did she say when you suggested that to her?’

  ‘She agreed. She usually does. She’s prudent with money. I had already begun to set up a schedule for disbursements and draft the appropriate papers. She doesn’t turn eighteen until next March, so we have time to sort this out, and probate takes ages for an estate this size, especially one that’s international.’

  ‘That’s good.’

  ‘I’ll work in connection with her and you, going forward. So you and I will be in good touch.’ James rose, smoothing down his tie.

  ‘Thanks.’ Maggie stood up, too. ‘I’m just happy that she’s back in my life.’

  ‘Of course you are, and she must be, too. Every girl needs a mother, doesn’t she?’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Noah, After

  TRIAL, DAY 5

  Noah braced himself as Linda strode toward him to begin her cross-examination. He hadn’t seen Maggie enter the courtroom during his direct examination, which worried him. He hated to remember her crying in the car. He had done well on direct and had testified for three hours, which they had timed in rehearsal. Thomas believed it was the perfect length for testimony, since the attention spans of most jurors were conditioned by watching movies. />
  Linda squared off against the witness stand. ‘Dr Alderman, my name is Linda Swain-Pettit, and I represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I have a few questions for you.’

  ‘Understood.’ Noah told himself to remain calm, that he could handle her. He and Thomas had rehearsed cross-examination, going over every possible question she could throw at him. Noah had his story down pat and he had just told it on direct, so all he had to do was not undermine himself. Thomas has drilled into him, Answer only the question. Don’t volunteer or explain.

  ‘Let’s begin with Commonwealth Exhibit 26.’ Linda flipped through exhibits leaning against the dais, pulled out an enlarged photo of Anna, and set it on an easel. Anna looked beautiful in the photo, which Noah had taken from the shoulders up, her long hair grazing her lovely neck, her blue eyes cool, her smile oddly sly. Now, he knew why. Too late.

  ‘Dr Alderman, you took this photo of Anna during a family vacation at Stone Harbor, isn’t that correct?’

  ‘No, not a vacation per se. We went down the shore for a day.’

  ‘Per se?’ Linda smirked. ‘Is that Latin?’

  ‘Yes. It means “as such.” ’

  ‘I know what it means. My question is, you took this photo, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’ Noah felt off-balance. One of the jurors chuckled. Thomas told him he was a know-it-all, and it was true. Noah used to think he knew it all. Before.

  ‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to the screen while I show you Commonwealth Exhibit 15, and ask, you took this photograph of Anna, too, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Noah answered, while the screen came to life with a picture of Anna in a flowered bikini, posing at the water’s edge. Even in the sexy bathing suit, she looked sweet, innocent, and modest. None of these were qualities she possessed, but she had everybody fooled.

  ‘Please keep your attention on the screen while I show you ten more photos of Anna, Commonwealth Exhibits 16 through 25, and ask, you took them as well, did you not?’

  ‘Yes,’ Noah answered, as the series flipped by, of Anna striking different poses in the bathing suit at the water’s edge. The jurors craned their necks, shifting in their seats.